Dar es Salaam- Tanzania has signed an agreement with the government of South Africa in which the two will build a partnership that would boost tourist numbers through an initiative known as Swahili Tourism Fair that is set to kick off in the first week of October this year.
With support from the biggest South African tourism promoter, Witch & Wizard Creative (Pty) Ltd, the new initiative is projected to double the number of tourists visiting the country and lead to enormous investments in the sector in a span of five years, according to the managing director of the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), Dr Aloyce Nzuki.
Speaking after the signing ceremony, Dr Nzuki expressed optimism that the initiative, which is similar to South Africa’s Indaba initiative, would be a powerful magnet for attracting foreign visitors.
“Until December, last year, tourism figures stood at 950,000 foreign visitors with net earnings of $1.4 billion (about Sh2.24trillion) annually. We expect to attract more tourists with the implementation of the Swahili Fair during the first week of every October,” he said.
He said that this year the Swahili Tourism Fair - which will complement the Karibu Fair that takes place every June - was scheduled to be held from October 2 to 5 at Mlimani City with engagement of thousands of visitors, including tourism investors from various countries within and outside Africa.
According to him, South Africa has been bringing at least 25,000 visitors annually to the country, indicating that collaborative efforts between Swahili Tourism Fair and South Africa’s Indaba would have a huge base.
“We expect to receive thousands of visitors. This implies that the country will earn more in terms of tourism proceeds, plenty business ventures and tax revenue. The demand for accommodation and other services required by foreign visitors will be higher than at present,” said the TTB chief executive officer.
Dr Nzuki also urged taxi operators in the city to change the modality of running their businesses by adopting a metred transport system.
“I urge operators of taxi transport services to adopt metred taxis during the Kiswahili Tourism Fair in October this year, because most of the foreign visitors are used to such a system,” he said.
“The construction sector will also benefit from this event following the need to construct special pavilions to host Swahili Tourism Fair. Local contractors must line up for this event,” he noted.
He also called upon tourist operators and local investors to get prepared for the event in order to tap the country’s huge tourism potentials through partnership with their foreign counterparts.
During the ceremony, the South African High Commissioner in the country, Amb Thanduyise Henry, signed the deal on behalf of the Republic of South Africa, while TTB Board chairman Charles Sanga represented the government. Ambassador Sanga said the country was striving to use the opportunity to tap tourism potentials by engaging competent tourism investors around the world who would participate in the Swahili Tourism Fair.
“We are living in a global village. This event is crucial for attracting top tourism investors; Tanzanians should exploit this opportunity,” he said.
For his part, South Africa’s High Commissioner to the country said the event was a continuation of the cordial relations between the two countries that have existed for several decades.
The chief executive officer of Witch & Wizard Creative (Pty) Ltd, Ms Zaida Enver, said they were committed to turning Tanzania into a giant host of tourism fairs in Africa to attract visitors and tourism investors from around the world in a similar manner as Indaba.
Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing fairs on the African calendar and one of the top three ‘must visit’ events of its kind on the global calendar.
It showcases the widest variety of Southern Africa’s best tourism products and attracts international visitors and media from across the world. Indaba is owned by South African Tourism Board and organised by Witch & Wizard Creative (Pty) Ltd.
For two years in a row, Indaba has won the award for Africa’s best travel and tourism show from the Association of World Travel Awards.
